Kartra vs Thinkific: Which Is the Best? Helpful Comparison (2021)

Find out whether Kartra is better than Thinkific or not Below!

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If you have ventured out for a digital business, you need a web presence. Also, you need to control your online marketing. There are solutions and platforms galore to assist you in this area. However, two of the most handpicked solution for marketing and selling online courses are Kartra and Thinkific.

If you are in a dilemma to choose one between the two, we are here to provide a comprehensive and helpful guide. It would take you through the main features, pricing models, similarities and differences between Kartra and Thinkific.

There are two aspects you need to keep in mind.

1. Are you looking forward to increasing your sales?
2. Are you hoping to boost the overall revenue?

Both Kartra and Thinkific would hit the bull’s eye. However, go in depth to find which one suits your needs the most.

A Short Glimpse

Before diving into the details, let us find out what the platforms are actually meant for, what do they have to offer.

Kartra

Kartra came into the market in 2018 by the thinktanks Andy Jenkins and Mike Filsaime. It is not just a shopping cart platform, but Kartra also offers a large number of online marketing solutions. 

Kartra is goal oriented, aiming at higher sales of your products in the digital business. It lets you host, create and sell courses, memberships and more. Kartra has an excellent helpdesk and supportive affiliate market management, along with the perks of customised email marketing.

Kartra also features a calendar app that allows scheduling of appointments, highly converting landing pages and forms and checkout tools. It is easy to use and you may embark on a minimal $1 trial for 14 days before you purchase the plan.

Thinkific

Are you dreaming of getting a platform for all resources of education under one roof? Then Thinkific is the platform!

You can create and sell courses, utilise enrolment sites and even bank on Thinkific for an income. The platform is easy to use and is armed with all features to make a successful online course selling platform. 

Deliver your courses on stunning fields and showcase your expertise on Thinkific. It has a modern atmosphere and helps in brand creation. Create compelling course content with quizzes, engage unlimited students with assignments and badges, all with Thinkific.

Chief Features

What makes Kartra stand out? Why does Thinkific attract online course builders? Go through their important features to get these questions answered!

Kartra

1. Membership Portal

Kartra lets you craft a membership site that is customised and automated to suit the needs of your customers and clients. Stream your income through the Kartra membership portal, where you can launch and sell your course content.

It is easy to build with drag and drop features. Create your content, host and sell. Kartra lets you sell course, files, training content under your brand identity. Kartra offers different tiers of membership and you can communicate with your customers through comments.

2. Funnels and Campaigns

Kartra makes your business profits reach sky high levels. You can run automated campaigns to attract the target customers. Generate leads, get sales with these funnels and campaigns.

Run the campaigns just after a few clicks and your business is on the platform. You can and customise such campaigns in your own way. The campaigns include gathering agency, simple list builder, book funnel campaign, squeeze page, four-day cash machine and many more. Each campaign is proven to have high conversion rates.

3. Landing Pages, Forms and Checkouts

Kartra boats of a wide variety of templates for designing beautiful and highly converting pages like home page, checkout page, legal page, 404 page and so on.

The forms are so designed to promise high conversion and generate leads and automate the sales campaigns. 

Even the checkout page is secure that features an inbuilt shopping card system and payment procedure. 

4. Email Automation

Kartra is rightfully a one-in-all marketing platform. You can generate automated email or SMS marketing based on customer behaviour. You can get valuable data and analyse that from tags, subscription list, email open or clicks, previous purchases or form submits. Kartra specialises in customising the mails with its integrated BAM feature.

5. Videos

Kartra allows you to host and create the course video on its own platform. Why invest on other platforms when one provides you with all features?

Create engaging content, make them highly converting, tag customers and also add CTAs while creating the videos on Kartra.

6. Calendar/ Scheduling/ Booking App

Kartra provides smooth customer relations management. It has an inbuilt calendar app that lets the clients book appointments with you when you are free.

The scheduling app is a great feature to stay connected. It also sends reminders before the meeting.

7. Support and Helpdesk

Kartra has an advanced helpdesk to guide clients and customers. It comes with support tickets and also live chat option. You can connect using phone, skype or support tickets.

Kartra lets you respond to your customers easily. You can set up multiple response areas or pre recorded answers. You may even integrate a Wikipedia like platform in the helpdesk to allow customers browse for the answer.

7. Affiliate Management Center

Kartra lets you manage the payment, commission and communication with affiliate marketers easily. In this centre, you can recruit and assign links to them as well.

You can yourself act as an affiliate marketer of products launched by other Kartra users. 

Thinkific

This platform is rich with resources that you need to sell courses online profitably.

1. Drag and Drop Course Builder

You do not need any technical or design experience to create course content on Thinkific. It has a simple user interface. It has a simple drag and drop feature that you can use to arrange your courses. It is intuitive and lets you integrate all elements of your course, videos and files in the proper way that your students can access. You do not need to worry about space and storage as Thinkific provides unlimited range of hosting your course content. Upload quizzes, survey forms, assignment and all files via this platform. Engage in discussions with the students on Thinkific and establish a good customer relation.

Thinkific amazes you with inbuilt content creation tools. You can get rid of all third-party external hosting as this site allows video creation as well.

2. Site Builder

Thinkific also assists in site creation. You can create your site on a subdomain of Thinkific for free or purchase your own custom domain. 

The platform lets you build your own site, which you can integrate with Thinkific for online management of the digital marketing. 

3. Site Themes

Even if you do not have your own designer, you will face no hassle with Site Builder on Thinkific. The themes provided are beautiful that suits with a wide range of contents. It is fun and easy to handle, and the themes are completely responsive to mobile.

There are three themes, each with 3 or 4 different styles. The various permutations and combinations give you a set of about 12 styles to choose from. Click on Publish and customise the settings to get the required content and view of your site.

4. Course Payment Structure

You need to set up a payment processor before you start earning for your courses on Thinkific. Thinkific supports an array of payment methods like Stripe, PayPal and more.

Thinkific also allows you set your course fees in different tiers. You can allow a free course on the platform as an attracting agent, or allow subscriptions or one-time payments at the beginning of the course.

5. Marketing Your Courses

You have got your course ready! Now you need to spread the word and attract students.

Thinkific provides the perfect ways and solutions. When your customers sign up on the Thinkific site, their emails are available. So, you need to build your list with whom you can communicate. You may even use the blog to let people know about a course even before launching it.

After you have built the sales funnel, set about on spreading the word. Offer discount and coupons for the first few registrations. Arrange the content in a way that lures customers.

Thinkific also assists in marketing of your courses via affiliate marketing system.

6. Tracking and Analysis

In the age of Industry 4.0, data is the most valuable asset. Analysis and visualisation of the large chunks of data is essential for your business to prosper.

Thinkific provides you the smooth and comprehensive analysis of the data from the admin panel. Check the last sign-ups, course activation date, video analytics, students’ engagement, percentage of course covered all through the Analytics Tab in the Integration section of Thinkific.

Customise your courses, content and campaign after analysing the data.

Similarities of Kartra and Thinkific

• Site Builder

Kartra and Thinkific both allow the user to create their own site, brand their site and design it in their own way. Customise the site using the default themes available. It is easy to build the site with drag and drop features. Once the site is ready, you can create, launch, market and sell your courses.

• Templates

Both the marketing platforms have a hub of ready-made templates and styles that you can apply to your site. Customise the style as you require. All the templates are suited to a wide variety of content. Aesthetics matter when it comes to marketing. With the perfect templates, Kartra and Thinkific both have high conversion rates.

• Videos

When you are creating a course content, presentability is an essential factor. You need to include videos to make the content interesting, interactive and engaging. Kartra and Thinkific both allow video hosting on their own platform, so that you do not have to rely on a third-party site.

Differences Between Kartra and Thinkific

• Email Service and Automation

Kartra has an inbuilt email service system that automates mail generation based on the list building. Email marketing is an important factor that streamlines marketing of target customers and attracts the consumer base for all the products hosted and launched online on Kartra. 

Thinkific however does not have this facility. 

• Student Management Quotient

Thinkific is designed to host and sell online course content, video, downloadable files and so on. It has all the necessary features for managing and engaging the entire base of students. It includes quizzes, assignments, surveys and tests to keep the course interactive and attracting to students.

Kartra however, has none of these features. So, the student engagement quotient is less for Kartra.

• Calendar or Scheduling App

Kartra comes with a very useful Calendar or Scheduling app, that books the appointment with you and your client when you are free. It also sends reminders before the meeting. 

Thinkific lacks this feature.

Pricing Structure

Take a look at the pocket pinch of Kartra and Thinkific.

Kartra

Kartra allows a 14-day trial for $1, after which you can choose one of these plans-

• Starter

This is meant for small businesses that charges you $99 per month, or $79 per month if you choose the annual scheme. You will get 2 membership portals, 20 products, 15000 mails and 2500 contacts.

• Silver

Pay $199 per month or $149 per month in the annual scheme and get a range of services. Avail unlimited mails, products and membership sites, with 12500 contacts and a bonus of Kartra Agency.

• Gold

The gold scheme would let you have 25000 contacts and unlimited emails, membership sites, helpdesk sites, products and more. You also have the Kartra agency and 5 custom domains at a rate of $299 per month. If you choose the annual scheme, you will have to pay $249 monthly.

• Platinum

The Platinum scheme is the most expensive with 50000 contacts and unlimited service in other features, with 10 custom domains and the maximum bandwidth. The pocket pinch is $399 per month. Save $1440 a year on choosing the annual scheme.

Thinkific

• Thinkific provides a forever free plan during which you can adjust yourself to the platform. You can host a maximum of 3 courses with quizzes, and get an unlimited student base.
• The Basic Plan provides you the permission to host unlimited courses with coupons, unlimited students’ base. You can also email students to build the list using this plan. Access all these at the cost of $49 per month.
• Thinkific Pro Plan lets you have 5 course admins, 2 site admins and host private and public course content. Provide certificates to students and also join communities in this plan, at the cost of $99 per month.
• Pay $499 monthly to get 5 analysts in your site and streamline a better marketing.
• You can add a growth package to the Pro Plan on Thinkific to boost the business of selling online course content. 

What Will You Choose Finally?

If you want to build and sell online courses solely, without engaging marketing solutions for the same, Thinkific wins out with its more student engagement features.

However, if you are focused on the growth and expansion of your online business of selling online course and marketing it, Kartra is ideal for you, with all its tools for digital customer-based marketing and appointment scheduling apps.

Analyse your needs, prioritise your choice and then choose judiciously.